Grace's School of the Falling Skies
by FallingTwisted-Star
Summary: Nixie, the granddaughter of Master Xeahanort, enters and is accepted to Grace's School of the Falling Skies. However, everything isn't picture perfect. Being two years younger than the standard application age, Nixie must prove to herself, and the worlds, that a thirteen-year-old can be a hero. Rated T for language, minor blood, and violence. Minor AU.
1. Chapter 1

Grace's School of the Falling Skies-Chapter I, Arc I: Goodbye Normal Life, Hello Adventure

* * *

"Are you sure that you have everything, sweetie?" my mom asked me.

"Yeah, mom. I have everything," I replied, patting my backpack.

"Alright, sweetie,"

I began walking to the blimp.

"Oh, and just remember to brush your teeth, keep your fingernails short, and brush your hair!"

"I know mom, I know!" I shouted, waving at her and getting on the blimp.

**Who knew that I would never see her again?**

* * *

I got on the blimp and took a seat by a friendly-looking boy with blonde hair. He reminded me of a porcupine.

"What's your name?" the boy asked me and blinked. I was caught up in the length of his eyelashes. I cleared my throat, averting my gaze away from his face.

"Nixie," I replied quietly.

"Nixie?" he asked me curiously. "That's an unusual name,"

I flushed crimson. _ I have always been proud of my name, and his little comment brought me down._

"Ven! That wasn't nice. Apologize to her, now,"

I looked up to see a young woman of about eighteen with blue hair and blue eyes glaring at the boy. _So Ven is his name. Huh._

"Sorry," he apologized, looking straight at my face. I blinked, nodded shyly, and moved to a seat across the wide isle. _I knew that he meant well, but I have never been good at talking to strangers_.

"See? You scared her away," the blue-haired girl said, still scowling. Her seat partner, a boy with brown hair and blue eyes that looked to be around eighteen as well, playfully poked Ven in the back of the head, causing me to laugh. They all turned their heads to look at me. _My laugh sounds like an evil cackle. Great, now they all must think that I'm insane._ My immediate thought was proved wrong as they all began to laugh. They sound like a group of cooing doves. I looked at them with interest and then looked away.

* * *

The blimp was beginning to descend to the middle of a desert, where a big, sprawling mansion was. I gasped in awe. The blimp lowered to where a lone figure was standing.

Craning my neck out, I asked the others: "Is this where the academy is?" They all shook their heads in unison.

"No," Ven said. "It's the third pick-up: probably for some rich kid," Just then, my brain noticed that the blimp was empty, except for Ven, his friends, and me. They all turned away from me to look at the boy who was getting on.

"Vanitas," they all hissed.

"How's it going, guys?" the young man named Vanitas asked. He could be Ven's twin, except for the creepy pair of golden eyes. Instead of being frightened, like the others were, I was intrigued. He seemed **quite** the character.

"Who's this little beam of light?" he asked, looking over at me. I waved shyly; not trusting my tongue to say anything.

"Her name is Nixie, and you better leave her alone!"

"Hmm," he said, cocking his head a bit. "How about…no," He then decide to plant his bottom on my seat. I sat still, the blimp moving again.

"You're quite the cute, innocent thing, aren't you?" he said after a while, his amber eyes looking me over.

"Y…Yeah," I said quietly. This boy was making me shy. _It's just the way that he's looking at me. It's making me uncomfortable._

"Hey! Make eye contact when you are talking with someone. It looks like you have something to hide,"

"I have a reason for doing that," I said, getting a little bit louder. I decided look right between his eyes. _He has a slender, almost girly nose_, I observed. The blimp began to land again.

"Do you?" he asked, his eyes narrowing a little bit. "Spill it,"

I took a few seconds to formulate my answer. "I barely even got in," I took a deep breath. "I mean, I'm too young to actually be here,"

Vanitas' eyes got a bit wider than normal. "So that means you're…"

I exhaled. "I'm thirteen; two years too young to enter,"

I heard Ven and his two friends gasp. Vanitas just narrowed his eyes. "You better fight pretty fucking good," he said. "This is a fighting school, after all," I felt

my hands tighten into fists. _Of course I'm good at fighting and a lot of other things too! _My brain shouted.

"Well, I aced all parts of the application," I stated haughtily. "Advanced Weapon Usage, Black-belt Tae-kwon do, Boxing, White Magic, Black Magic, Arcane Arts…" I started listing off all parts of the application on my fingers. "…English, Algebra, Basic Geometry, Advanced Biology, Geology, Weapon Design, Weapon Assembly and Aircraft Design," I turned to address everyone.

"How'd you all get in?"

They all stared at me, wide-eyed; even Vanitas. About three more people filed in to sit in the far back; making the blimp occupants thirty-five.

"You didn't need to do everything," the young man with brown hair and blue eyes said.

"That was the only way that they let me in,"

"Well, shit," Vanitas said, quickly turning his shock into a smirk. "Guess I underestimated you, Nixie," he said.

"Damn straight you did," I deadpanned, looking out the window. We were flying high and fast over a jungle. Even though we were so high up, I could see all the animals running from tree to tree. It was pretty cool. Sooner or later, however, sleep began to catch me. Looking back over my shoulder, I noticed that Ven and his two friends were asleep; Vanitas didn't even look drowsy the slightest.

"I'm surprised that you aren't asleep yet," I murmured, giving out a small yawn. The blimp was still picking people up.

"You can go ahead and sleep; I don't bite," he said, opening his mouth to reveal normal teeth. "See?" I nodded and opened up my backpack. _No wonder my mom packed a pillow in here. She said the ride to the academy was four hours_, I recollected.

"Do you know how long we've been here for?" I asked.

"About two," he responded, looking at the clock hanging on the wall above our seat. I yawned, and put the pillow behind my head. "You have one?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"Don't need one," was all he said. I yawned again and closed my eyes; lulled by the blimp's engine. _I didn't know blimps had engines, _I thought dully as the rest of the world faded away and I entered my dreams.

* * *

_Words this chapter: 1101_

_I had the weirdest dream last night: it was about the Kingdom Hearts cast and me going to an academy, * __Shakes head__* but that one was a school for dance. It was really weird, as far as dreams go. Hope you all enjoy!  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_Grace's School of the Falling Skies-Arc I, Arc II: Out of Place, out of Reality_

_Nyahhh, I don't wanna grow up! *__Hides under bed__*_

_Kingdom Hearts belongs to SquareEnix and Disney. It's implied that there will be different fashions._

My peaceful dreams were interrupted by someone shouting "Get up, gear rat!" in my ear. It wasn't so peaceful now. I opened my eyes to see a teenage girl wearing a snakeskin bodysuit.

"What did you just call me?" I asked her.

"You idiotic gear rat!" she shrieked. "I want to sit there!"

"Sorry bitch, she was here before you," Vanitas said dryly. Who know that **he** would stick up for me? The teen screamed in rage before tearing down the aisle.

"Gear rat?" Ven asked me from across the aisle. "Why did she call you that?"

"Because our world produces clocks and mechanisms for the rest of the world," I explained. "Apparently, she has something against our people,"

The girl with the blue hair snorted. "And **that's** supposed to be an **insult**?"

"Because rats are stereotypically dumb and slow: our world is a bit lacking in current technology," I explained. I felt the blimp lower. I pressed my face to the window. "Wow," I gasped. We were crossing the sea to a big landmass.

"This is the academy, right?" I asked Vanitas. He nodded in agreement, his eyes a tad larger than normal. He seems to be a bit awed too.

A single landmass was floating out in the middle of a crystal clear ocean. Looking down, I could see the masses of coral and the schools of fish swimming by. We were approaching the landmass, and I could tell that this structure was made for me. The academy was a giant slate-grey and tan castle with a sloping roof. From the center, a giant clock tower rose and seemed to touch the pristine white clouds. A big smile stretched across my face as the blimp flew around the clock tower. The dial was hand-painted; a big golden gear where the minute and hour hand connects in the center. The castle itself had big, stained glass windows. Flying this high, I could see that the castle was actually an oval, the clock tower in the middle of a beautiful garden. I grumbled to myself when the blimp began the decent to the front of the castle.

A few minutes later, we were all loaded off the blimp, backpack rested securely on my shoulders.

"Did you see how high we were?!" Ven raved. "I thought we were going to be lost in the clouds!" the girl with the blue hair laughed and ruffled his hair.

"Oh yeah!" I exclaimed suddenly, tapping my forehead. "I never got the names of your friends, Ven,"

"Oh!" he exclaimed, his calmness returning after the trip in the clouds. "The girl with the blue hair is Aqua," named girl smiled at me. "And the one who's silent as a rock is Terra," the boy with brown hair and blue eyes nodded at me.

"Very fitting name," I giggled.

"Are we done goofing off here?!" Vanitas asked; annoyance amplified in his tone. We all set off to enter the building.

"Hey gear rat!" the teen from before shouted. Now that I could see her full body, she looked ridiculous. That horrendous snakeskin bodysuit was accompanied with zebra-print, knee high boots. It took all my effort not to laugh. Vanitas, however, roared with laughter.

"Let's ditch her," I suggested as we all entered the building: leaving the girl opened-mouthed.

My breath was taken away again as we entered the lobby. My combat boots pitter-patted against the granite tiles as shivers racked my body. I noticed that the others, with the exception of Vanitas, were standing up a bit taller. I nervously readjusted the bronze goggles perched at the top of my head. The entire room seemed to shout: "We don't want you here, gear rat. Go back to your home with blimps and giant clock towers on every other block,"

I stifled sobs as a tear slipped down my cheek. That clock tower in the center of this place was the only reminder of home. Everything was gone, so far away. I longed for the clock on the wall above the fireplace that chimed every forty minutes. I wanted to be home with my mom. She was going to teach me how to build a clock.

The only "modern" technology (besides music) that we had was a small arcade; perched between an airship factory and a clock tower. I remembered the one friend that I had at the arcade. He had auburn, almost pink, curly hair. He was really tall and wore a buttoned-up white shirt. Drowning Pool was his favorite band: he told me. What was his name again? It was an odd one.

"Nixie?"

I was snapped out of my memories by Terra. I looked up at him expectantly. The others were way ahead.

"Right," I said awkwardly, running up ahead to the desk. They were already talking to one of the receptionists.

"Name?" one of the receptionists drawled. She looked like a blonde cricket. Hehe…

"Ventus," said boy replied. "All my friends call me Ven!"

The receptionist rolled her eyes. "Weapon,"

"Just this," he said cockily as he stuck out a hand.

I gasped as a weapon appeared in his hand.

"A…Key?"

The weapon shined and morphed entirely.

"W-What?" Ven exclaimed. Instead of that other weapon, he held a bronze samurai sword in a reverse grip.

"Your **special** little weapons don't work here," the receptionist said, a terrifying smile appearing on her face. Forget what I said about Vanitas being scary; this girl takes the cake.

"Why so scary, Elenar?"

That voice…I know it. White buttoned shirt, pinkish hair…

"Li Amaru!" I shriked, running right at him as he rounded the corner.

"Nixie, my friend!"

Words this Chapter: _1017_

_Long live Drowning Pool! *raises hands* I need deathcore metal music and pudding to stay awake, pardon me…_


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